SHAWNEE, Okla. – A tight game through the middle innings turned into a 7-3 win for Oklahoma Baptist over Missouri Western baseball in both teams’ first game of the season Friday.

Oklahoma Baptist led 3-0 after two innings, but Missouri Western pulled within two with a run in the third. The game stayed at 3-1 until the Bison pushed four across the plate in the seventh to open the lead up.

NOTABLES

• Andrew Curry scored the first run of the season for MWSU on a Michael Miller sacrifice fly to center
• Missouri Western had the go-ahead run at the plate with two runners in scoring position and one out in the fifth, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the threat
• Fahd Shakeel tripled, drove in a run and scored a run
• Casey Danley and Michael Miller collected the other Griffon RBIs
• Shakeel, Danley, Dusty Stroup and Wyatt Meyer each had one hit
• Andrew Curry walked twice and scored a run in his first game back since missing all but one game of the 2018 season with an injury
• Jacob Miller got the start and struck out seven, but took the loss allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits and walking five
• Thomas Ruwe struck out two of the three batters he faced in one inning of relief in his Griffon debut
• The two teams combined for 25 strikeouts in the game, 13 for Oklahoma Baptist
• Oklahoma Baptist’s first two runs were unearned and the third came with two out in the second
• Missouri Western had four hits and left seven on base

UP NEXT

• Games two and three of the series on Saturday in Shawnee, Oklahoma
• Game two is scheduled for a nine-inning game beginning at 1 p.m. The seven-inning series finale will follow.

— MWSU Athletics —